Commision - Snowy Field Ambush

[Aegeri]

This is very good work and I am most pleased, it's exactly what I wanted. The road was requested not to have snow on it, because it is actually regularly cleared by the locals and is the main route towards the town. The PCs only really run afoul of creatures by some poor luck for the most part. There aren't the large snow drifts I wanted, but looking at the map I can easily work with it as it is without them (it actually looks better the way he has done it).

[professorthunder]

I lived on a dirt road for 15 years here in AK. A dirt/gravel road not covered by snow would be reasonable, depending on the conditions of the area. If there's been lots of snow and it's been below freezing for several days, and the road is well traveled and regularly cleared then whatever snow was actually left on the road would be packed down into ice with bits of gravel poking out and a slight dirty tinge to the snow. If it's brutally cold enough with no new precipitation, and there is enough traffic on the road, eventually the ice sublimates and you get a clear road.

If there has been lots of snow but regular freeze/thaw cycles, then the ice-crust would first "break-up" on the heaviest tracked areas, turn the road to mud as it's over saturated, and then refreeze with tracks at night (assuming traffic isn't constant), eventually the road would be full of ruts but the snow would have melted off and all you're left with is snow piled on the sides of the road, no snow on the road, and intermittent mud and frozen spots. If traffic was constant 24/7 then the road would be nothing but mud unless it were paved or you got a cold-snap with no new snow for a few days.

[Gidde]

I definitely recommend listening to the guy from AK on snowy roads. I gotta hand it to you, man; being from Michigan I laugh at people in the south when they close their states for a flurry, but you guys probably laugh at Michiganders for closing stuff during a howling blizzard.

[professorthunder]

@Gidde: Closures are pretty rare, yeah. But while we're colder than Michigan temperature wise, I think the Michigan/Minnesota area gets some pretty big snow falls, especially the UP region. (Not to derail the thread!)

I think everything here is a pretty good, clean, representation of a snowy field and road. My only wish with a map like this would be a little elevation difference between the road and the snow, either higher or lower. A higher road would be more dry and less muddy, a low road would be a boggy cesspit. One way to get a quick elevation or slope is to use adjustment layers in Photoshop, especially the Expose tool, to lightly paint regions of shadow where you want them.

[Aegeri]

The road could be slightly lower, but it's not ordinarily ever like this as the reason for the area being frozen is supernatural in origin. It's normally a grassy field with sunshine and such forth (in the middle of Eberrons Summer months). The road is still cleared though and hence it's maintained.

[geamon]

Anything you wanted changed Aegeri? I can make modifications if any element you don't like.

[Aegeri]

Nope, I am extremely happy with what you've done and it will be definitely used in my game.